The Distance of the Heart

A month after that, we left Red Dragon's Jaw.

As soon as we arrived in a new city, we bought a carriage and set off toward Eris's hometown.

"Hey... how long are you two going to keep this up?"

Eris sat beside me, hugging my left arm tightly, while Aisha lay directly across my lap.

They had been like this ever since that encounter with the Dragon God. Honestly, I had been pretty happy about it for the first week, but now another week had passed and they were still at it.

"Rudeus... do you not like this?"

"Brother... am I annoying you?"

All right, how was I supposed to harden my heart and move them away after they said that?

So I smiled.

"Of course not. I love it."

"Good! X2"

For some reason, I felt like the two of them had gotten pretty good at handling me.

But I didn't hate this feeling. If anything, I was enjoying it.

In my free time at night, I tried to recreate the magic the Dragon God had used.

Was it called [Former Dragon Gate]?

You could say I was making no progress at all. But since the name of the spell had "dragon" in it, maybe only those with dragon blood could use it?

"Brother, what are you doing~?"

Aisha, who had been sleeping on my lap, seemed to have been woken up by me.

I stroked her head.

"I'm trying to recreate that magic the Dragon God used."

"Why? Do you want to defeat him, Brother?"

"No way. I just want to get stronger."

"Oh... why do you want to get stronger, Brother...? Wouldn't it be fine if we just obediently did what he told us...? He's so strong, he probably won't need us to fight or anything..."

Aisha's mood had fallen a little.

Maybe she thought I was researching the Dragon God's magic because I wanted to beat him the next time we met.

So I pinched her little cheeks.

"Aisha, you almost died."

"Yeah... but I'm still alive now, aren't I?"

"That's right. So for the sake of the Aisha who's alive now, I have to seize every minute and every second. I won't let myself be unable to step forward again when you need me."

"So, Brother... you still want to go defeat that Dragon God? Or... what he's making you do is dangerous..."

As Aisha spoke, her voice began to tremble with tears.

"Of course not. I just want to become stronger so this kind of thing never happens again. Even if I face an opponent stronger than the Dragon God someday, I have to make sure you survive."

"You really won't go looking for revenge on that Dragon God?"

"Of course not. I don't have a death wish."

"Promise?"

Aisha held out her pinky.

"I promise."

After we linked pinkies, I lifted Aisha from my lap and sat her on it instead.

I hugged Aisha from behind.

"Aisha, I've had my memories since birth. I remember so many things in my life clearly."

"Really?"

"Really. From the day I was born until now, I had never shed a single tear for anyone. But when I saw your injuries, my tears kept flowing and never stopped."

"I'm sorry... Brother."

"Fortunately, it ended well."

"Yeah... Brother, then... that Dragon God... the reason he tried to kill me..."

"If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. It's okay."

"No... I have to say it..."

And so Aisha told me many things.

Starting from the displacement incident, about a guy who called himself the Human-God and had been appearing in her dreams.

That Human-God had given Aisha advice about certain events, but Aisha had barely listened to any of it, so in the end, it was still because of my decision that we ran into that Dragon God.

When Aisha said one piece of advice from the Human-God had been "Don't take Red Dragon's Jaw," she looked terribly guilty—guilty that she hadn't listened to the Human-God's advice.

I patted Aisha on the head and spoke.

"It wasn't your fault. Your suspicion was correct."

"Mm..."

"Don't take this bracelet off. It should be something that can block the Human-God's interference with you. After all, the Human-God might be the Dragon God's enemy, and since this bracelet was left behind for an enemy, that should be its purpose..."

"Okay, Brother..."

Seeing Aisha's bitter expression really made it hard to watch.

"All right, it's over now. Cheer up a little."

"Oh..."

I held Aisha even tighter, gently pressed my forehead against hers, and slowly spoke.

"I love you, Aisha. I swear that no matter what happens from now on, I won't let you fall into that kind of danger again."

"Oh... uh... I... I love you too... Brother..."

"You can actually get embarrassed?"

"Uu..."

I patted Aisha on the head.

Just then, Eris, who had also been fast asleep, suddenly sat up as if startled.

"Rudeus! What about me!"

"I love you too, Eris."

Without another word, Eris kissed me on the cheek. Since Aisha was still there, she only gave me a light peck.

I had to say... after we started going out, Eris had been expressing her love more and more often.

Huh? This did count as going out, right?

Although we still hadn't had anything like a formal confession, if our feelings were mutual, that should be enough, right?

Mm...

"All right, all right, both of you should go to sleep. We'll reach our destination in a few more weeks."

"Rudeus, aren't you tired?"

"I'm all right. You two drove the carriage during the day, so I got enough rest."

"I want to stay with Rudeus tonight."

A straight pitch.

Although Eris had first been an annoying little kid in my mind, as she grew older, her changes had become plain to see...

I didn't know how to put it... basically, she was very cute.

"Ah... yeah. Stay and chat with me for a bit, then go sleep?"

"Mm!"

And so, Aisha tactfully hid in the back of the carriage.

Eris talked on and on about her plans for the future.

She said that after we found Zenith, she wanted to hold a grand wedding, and once she reunited with her parents, she wanted to tell them about her relationship with me.

She also said she wanted to become strong—stronger than Ghislaine, stronger than the Dragon God, so strong that no one could ever harm us.

"Eris."

"Mm?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to tell you that the stars are beautiful tonight."

Hearing that, Eris lifted her head and stared at the night sky in a daze.

I didn't know what Eris was thinking. She just kept gazing at the starry sky like that.

The night sky in this world was beautiful. That was the truth.

Every time I looked up at night, I realized how small I was. As long as I was beneath this starry sky, all my worries faded away.

After several minutes, Eris seemed to come back to herself and softly spoke while looking at the night sky.

"Rudeus... if I left you in order to become stronger... would you forgive me?"

"Leaving me isn't something you need to apologize for. Leaving doesn't mean betraying me."

"Is that what Rudeus thinks?"

"Of course."

"If Rudeus said he wanted to leave me... I'd definitely go find the vixen who seduced him, then cut her down."

"So scary."

"Rudeus, do you not like me like this?"

"I do."

"Oh..."

Eris leaned against my shoulder, her cheeks slightly red.

"I mean it... If I leave... you can find another woman... As long as... as long as when we meet again... Rudeus will take me as his concubine..."

"You're going to leave?"

"I don't know... But when I'm by your side... I feel like I can't get stronger... You're too reliable, Rudeus. I can't help but depend on you."

"Hearing the person I like call me reliable feels even better than I imagined. But..."

"Eris, there's no need to think so much about things that haven't happened yet. Besides, saying I'd find a new woman the moment you left is a little too heartbreaking, don't you think?"

Unexpectedly, Eris seemed confused by my words.

"Father and Grandfather both have lots of women, so I thought someone as amazing as Rudeus... should have lots of women too."

"Even if I did, there wouldn't be anything like concubines. It's not like I'm some noble or royal."

"Then... will you accept me?"

"Eris, I love you."

As I said that, I kissed Eris on the lips.

"Does that count as an answer?"

Eris nodded, her cheeks bright red.

"Mm..."

"Go to sleep. You didn't sleep at all during the day."

"Mm... good night... Rudeus."

"Good night."